गौतम देवको बयानको कुनै वैधानिक अवस्थान छैन

सुप्रिम कोर्ट अफ इन्डियाले PUCL भर्सेस महाराष्ट्र सरकारको एउटा मुद्दामा सुनवाई गर्दा राष्ट्रलाई नै पुलिस इन्काउन्टर माथि १६ सूत्र भएको दिशा निर्देश दिएको छ| हिजो सोनादामा भएको पुलिस फाइरिंगले गोर्खाल्याण्ड समर्थक टाशी भुटियाको मृत्यु भएको कुरालाई खण्डन गर्दै पश्चिम बङ्गालका पर्यटन मन्त्री गौतम देवले भुटियाको मृत्यु पुलिसको गोलीले भएको होइन भन्ने वयान दिएकाछन्| मन्त्रीको यस बयानलाई म सुप्रिम कोर्ट अफ इन्डियाले दिएको १६ सूत्र दिशा निर्देशको केवल दुई सूत्र (तीनबटा बुँदा भए पनि दुई भनेको कारण दुइवटा उप-सूत्र हुन्) प्रयोग गर्दै जवाब दिन अनि प्रश्न गर्न चाहन्छु:

१. गोर्खा जातिको सम्वैधानिक माग अलग राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्डको “बङ्ग भंग होबेना” ठाडो विरोध गर्ने राज्य सरकार अनि आन्दोलनलाई दमन गर्न पुलिसी बल प्रयोग गर्ने राज्य सरकारको कुनै पनि इन्भेस्टिगेसन रिपोर्टलाई गोर्खा समुहले मान्दैन, सन्देहको नजरले हेर्छ| आन्दोलनको प्रकृति हेर्दा पनि पश्चिम बङ्गाल सरकारले गोर्खामाथि निरन्तर षडयन्त्र गरेको हुनाले राज्यको रिपोर्टमा गोर्खालाई भरोसा नहुनु गोर्खा जातिको अधिकारको कुरा हो| यसैले गोर्खाल्याण्ड आन्दोलनमा दार्जीलिङ अनि कालेबुङ जिल्लामा भएको मृत्युहरूको जाँचमा राष्ट्रिय मानव अधिकार आयोगको सहभागिता आवश्यक छ| सुप्रिम कोर्ट अफ इन्डियाको दिशा निर्देशको बुँदा 5 मा निष्पक्ष जाँच हुने गहन शंका भए त्यसको निवारणको निम्ति ढिलो नगरी राष्ट्रिय मानव अधिकार आयोगलाई सहभागी बनाउने निर्देश दिइएको छ| के पश्चिम बङ्गाल सरकारले यो दिशा निर्देश पालन गरेको छ?

२. मृतकको पोस्ट मार्टम जिल्ला अस्पतालमा दुइजना डाक्टरको निगरानीमा भएको हुनुपर्ने अनि उनीहरुमध्ये एकजना डाक्टर जिल्ला अस्पतालको मुख्य अधिकारी भएको हुनुपर्ने अनि पोस्ट मार्टमको प्रत्येक क्षणको अनकट् भिडियो रिकर्ड गरिएको हुनुपर्ने कुरा सुप्रिम कोर्ट अफ इन्डियाको दिशा निर्देशको बुँदा 3 (f) मा  स्पष्ट बताइएको छ| सोनादामा मृतक भेटाइएको केही घण्टा नबित्दै आफ्नो बयान जारी गर्ने पर्यटन मन्त्रीलाई सोध्न चाहन्छु, के सुप्रिम कोर्टको माथि बताइएको दिशा निर्देश यति छिटो पालन गरियो? गरिएको छ भने पोस्ट मार्टमको भिडियो रिकर्ड रेडी राख्नु, भोलि अदालतमा उभिनुपर्छ| बङ्गाल सरकारको प्रत्येक एभिडेन्सको हामी फोरेन्सिक जाँच माग्नेछौं| यदि दिशा निर्देश पालन गरिएको छैन भने हतारमा भुटियाको मृत्यु पुलिसको गोलीले भएको होइन भन्ने वयान उनले किन जारी गरे? यस्तो बयान दिने बाध्यताभित्र के लुकेको छ?

३. कुनै पनि प्रमाण हतियार, फ्याँकेर हिर्काउने योग्य हतियार, बुलेट, कार्टिज केस आदि सरकारले के के साक्ष्य राखेको छ? यसको पनि आवश्यकतामा फोरेन्सिक जाँच गरिने निर्देश सुप्रिम कोर्ट अफ इन्डियाको दिशा निर्देशको बुँदा 3 (g) मा दिइएको छ? यसै बुँदामा म थप के भन्न चाहन्छु भने मुख्यमन्त्री ममता ब्यानर्जीले हतियार बाहिरबाट आएको भन्दै यसलाई अन्य मोड्ने कोशिष गरेको कुरालाई पनि यसै बुँदाले गलत साबित गरिदिनेछ|
माथिका केवल दुई सूत्र बुँदा 5 अनि 3 तीन पालन नगरी दिएको पर्यटन मन्त्री गौतम देवको बयानको कुनै वैधानिक अवस्थान छैन| गोर्खाल्याण्डका दावेदार राजनैतिक दलहरूका कानुनी प्रकोष्ठहरू जाग| सरकारको बयानको जवाब देउ| होइन भने पद छोडेको घोषणा गर| हामी जवाब पनि दिनेछौं अनि सुप्रिम कोर्टमा मुद्दा लिएर पनि जानेछौं, ताकी भविष्यमा हाम्रा युवाहरू कसैको अकर्मण्यताको शिकार नबनुन्, राज्य सरकार डराउनु परोस्, बङ्गालमा गोर्खालाई अत्याचार भएको  अदालती बयान समेत जन्माउन सकियोस्, यी सबैको समिश्रणले नै गोर्खाल्याण्डको बाटो बन्नेछ|
- बी० पी० बजगाईं (९ जुलाई, २०१७)

‘Peace has to return to the hills’: Mamata says WB govt ready for talks on Darjeeling unrest

PTI, Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged political parties in the Darjeeling hills to return to the path of peace and sit with the government for talks.

“The government is ready for talks with the hill parties, but peace has to be ushered in. The government has shown enough restraint in the interest of the people of the hills. Peace has to return to the hills,” she said.

“If peace returns in the next 10-15 days, I can call the hill parties for talks. But, let us restore peace first,” she added.

Banerjee said schools and colleges remained closed in Darjeeling, the people there were not getting enough food and other essential commodities and alleged that the leaders of the hill parties, however, were getting their supplies “from Sikkim and Nepal”.

The state government, she added, would send food to the people of the hills.

[Via: Hindustan Times]

[In pic: Policemen remove a barricade near the train station set alight during clashes with Gorkhaland supporters during an indefinite strike in Sonada near Darjeeling.(AFP)]

West Bengal is bullying a small Himalayan state

Writes: P D Rai (P D Rai is a member of the Sikkim Democratic Front party and a Member of Parliament from Sikkim)

Sikkim is sandwiched between Tibet, which has flared up on the one hand, and the active non-cooperation of the West Bengal authorities on the other.

Sikkim is normally in the news because we win accolades for our Organic Mission and our cleanliness drive. Not today. There is tension in the border with China flexing its military and rhetoric muscle in the North and East. And then there is West Bengal to our South.

What is Sikkim staring at right now? Empty hotels. No takers for our taxis. Food running short in ration shops. Petrol scarcity scare. Thanks to the buffer stock at the Indian Oil Corporation Limited we are still managing with diesel and petrol and LPG cylinders. Thanks to money circulation there is cash in the ATMs. I am told it is also running out as cash vehicles are not being ‘allowed’ to come.

As recent as a couple of weeks back, a major seminar on Non-Communicable Diseases convened by the DG of Indian Council Medical Research, had to be cancelled due to the unrest.

Does the Centre know what’s going on? Sure, they do but they have yet to take a stand. I have written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and personally briefed minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju and Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia about our concerns. Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has apprised all the central leaders as well. Sikkim is part of the We are part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) and we have informed its convener, the powerful Assamese leader Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Just a day before West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee left Darjeeling in June, Sikkim’s economy was buzzing away. Our hotel rooms were at full capacity; many tourists had to be accommodated in makeshift shelters. Locals had started complaining that taxis were in short supply. The state government was busy with regulating high prices being charged by service providers, like hotels etc. In short, we were dealing with the travails of a vibrant tourism-led economy.

Fast forward to today. After the shut down in the Gorkhaland hills, for well over 20 days, even RBI Gangtok is talking about a possible shortage of cash. All hotel rooms are empty.

Yesterday in Namchi, an exasperated Chief Minister directly accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress of putting in place an unofficial embargo on all goods and other essential commodities from reaching Gangtok. He also spoke of the huge losses that Sikkim and the Sikkimese people have had to bear in the last three decades of the strife taking an ugly turn. He has pegged the figure at Rs. 60,000 Crores.

Why has Ms Banerjee done this? Just because we chose to write to the Union Home Minister supporting a just and reasonable settlement to the Gorkhaland issue? This has been festering for over three decades. Sikkim has been at the receiving end of the stick. We have said as much in our letters. We had written about this earlier as well and so our position is not a new one. This must be understood.

Sikkim is sandwiched between a tenuous border with Tibet (China) which has flared up on the one hand and the active non-cooperation of the West Bengal authorities on the other.
Talk to anyone and the opinion is clear: West Bengal is bullying a small Himalayan State. This kind of unofficial and administration-driven strong arm tactics is just not how this great country of ours is supposed to run. Many truckers have been turned away by plain-clothed policemen in full view of uniformed personnel. These actions are being taken in Siliguri and along the highway. One of our Ministers has gone on record to say that we are being taken for granted by our neighbouring state.

We will knock at every door of the Union government and go to the Supreme Court to seek justice. In a 21st century India, which is looking for a place in the high table of the comity of nations, this kind of local bullying must not happen.
This is not the way a mature democracy works.

I am not preaching democracy to anyone but some things should be told as they are.

Source: http://bit.ly/2uUFyof

#GST issue sorted out for tea auction

With GST coming into place from July one, tea traders, brokers along with Tea Board and tax commissioners have sorted out the billing issue on how to impose the new tax during auctions.

"The billing issue relating to imposition of GST at the auction houses has been sorted out", secretary of Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) Kalyan Sundaram told PTI.

Sundaram said that auction (sale number 27) in Calcutta will start today from 2pm and continue till Saturday lunch time.

This sale was supposed to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, but was postponed due to the billing issue on how to raise GST (both CGST and SGST) invoice after auction is complete.

According to him, it had been decided that once tea is sold at the auctions, the producers would raise a tax invoice to the broker.

This tax invoice would comprise 2.5 per cent SGST and 2.5 per cent CGST.

Unless this was done, then buyers, sellers and brokers would not be able to avail of input tax credit.

Auctions and Guwahati and Siliguri had started from 9 am today, he said, adding that at Coonoor it was also being held today.

Auction at Coimbatore would start later, he said.

Sundaram said that Tea Board had organised a workshop comprising Assam's tax commissioner, commercial tax commissioner of West Bengal and Commissioner of Central Excise.

Source: http://bit.ly/2uwDjry

No more forces for hills: Centre tells HC - DARJEELING AGITATION

Calcutta, July 7: The Centre told the high court today that it couldn't send additional forces to the hills as demanded by Bengal, prompting a division bench to order senior officials of the central and state governments to talk and resolve the dispute. #

The order was issued during the hearing of two public interest litigations seeking an order to declare the ongoing bandh in the hills illegal.

Advocate general Kishore Dutta told the court that the Union government was yet to respond to the state's plea for additional paramilitary forces for deployment in Darjeeling and Kurseong.

Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor general Kaushik Chanda said: "The Centre has already sent 11 companies of paramilitary forces to the hills. Recently, eight companies of central forces- have been deployed for maintaining peace at Basirhat and Baduria in North 24 Parganas. So, the Centre cannot send additional forces to the hills."

In reply, Dutta said: "Of the 11 companies sent to the hills, three are of women CRPF personnel and another three are of SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal). Instead of the SSB and women CRPF forces, the state wants six companies of male CRPF personnel."

Chanda said the state should meet the officials of the central government physically and place the demand.

In the order, the division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty said: "Senior officials of the state home department should speak to the senior officials of the Union home ministry either physically or through video-conference and settle the dispute over the deployment of central forces required in the hills."

The division bench, in the same order, sought a report from the chief judge of the sessions court here, stating whether it had exempted Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung and other accused from appearance in the Madan Tamang murder trial.

Gurung and 21 other Morcha leaders are named in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case.

Appearing for Bharati Tamang, widow of Madan, advocate Indranil Chatterjee claimed that the high court had directed all the accused to be present in Calcutta during the trial at the sessions court here.

"But they flouted the directive. I have been informed that they filed a petition in the sessions court seeking exemption from attending the trial and the same was allowed."

[Source - Telegraph, File pic]

Highway blocked on BDO 'advice

Writes : KOUSIK SEN :Raiganj, July 7: Residents of a village located on either side of NH34 in Itahar raised a four-hour long road blockade this morning, demanding immediate repair of the roads which connect the highway with their localities.

The move, they said, follows an "advise" from the BDO of Itahar.

"Condition of the roads which connect our villages with the highway is bad, particularly during the monsoon. We have approached the local panchayat representatives and the officials at the block office. Despite repeated assurances, no initiative was taken by them," said Pampa Ghosh, an Itahar resident who participated in the blockade.

"While speaking to the BDO, he told us that mere visits to his office would not prompt the administration to wake up from its slumber and advised us that we should resort to road blockade to mount pressure on the administration. Accordingly, we raised the blockade on the highway today," Pampa said.

The blockade on the highway that connects north and southern parts of Bengal brought traffic to a screeching halt.

The Joint BDO of Itahar went to the spot with forces. He spoke to the agitators and assured them that the repair would commence soon. In fact, at around 10.30pm, some excavators reached the location. Those were engaged to start the repair of potholes and craters with earth.

Finally, the residents withdrew around 11am and the traffic resumed.

Administrative sources said they too had learnt that the BDO had "advised" the residents to block the highway.

"It is surprising. A government official cannot make such suggestions to people. We have started an inquiry on the basis of information gathered from different sources. We will also speak to the BDO and check out whether it is correct," Ayesha Rani A, the district magistrate of North Dinajpur, said.

Goswami, the BDO, however, has denied the charges.

"Some villagers have completely misinterpreted my comments. I had told them to abstain from any such road blockade," he said.

Hill parties shunned growth: Abhishek

Jalpaiguri, July 7: Trinamul MP Abhishek Banerjee today trained gun at top leaders of hill parties and said they had shunned the development process initiated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee and instead created unrest in the region.

Abhishek, the president of the youth wing of Trinamul, who was in Dhupguri for a meeting organised by the organisation, said: "Mamata Banerjee had clearly told Bimal Gurung, Roshan Giri and Harka Bahadur Chhetri that she would extensively carry out development across the hills. She had promised that all demands with regard to infrastructure, right from education sector to health and communication, would be met. But she had simultaneously made it clear that the hills would continue be part of Bengal."

These leaders, he alleged, have shun development now.

"The development process was initiated in the hills and the chief minister had wanted that all these leaders should be on board and work together for this purpose. These people have, however, shunned development and have instead, indulged in activities which have led to tension in the hills. I would, however, like to reiterate that they can never separate the hills from our state."

Abhishek also passed an alert to the hill parties. "We would ask them to stop from hatching further plots. They are getting support from some other political parties but the intentions of these forces have got exposed and people no longer stand in support of them," he said.

At the meeting, held in the local football ground, Youth Trinamul workers and supporters of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar were present. It was a part of the preparations to boost party workers and supporters ahead of the July 21 meeting that the party will hold in Calcutta, leaders said.

In his 30-minutes' speech, Mamata's nephew also asked party leaders and ministers to "recognise the contribution of common party workers and felicitate them".

"As leaders and ministers, you have been felicitated for several times. But to continue the struggle, you should recognise and honour booth level workers and felicitate them. They are the foundations of our party. You should walk together with them to ensure that our political contenders, who are joining hands, are defeated in the upcoming elections," Abhishek said, addressing the leaders and state ministers.

- Telegraph